Book Review: She’s Got the Time (The Suite #45 Series Book 3) by M.O. Mack

She’s Got the Time
(The Suite #45 Series Book 3)
by M.O. Mack 

 From author M.O. Mack comes the third heart-stopping thriller in the Suite #45 series, SHE’S GOT THE TIME.

SENTENCED FOR A CRIME SHE ONLY WISHED SHE’D COMMITTED…

 

Emily has made some pretty tough choices in order to survive. Some she regrets. Others, well, not so much.

Running from her corrupt FBI husband, for example? No regrets. Ending up working for a group of hit men? Big regrets.

On the bright side, the group only kills bad guys. On the not-so-bright side, the biggest cartel south of the border wants the group dead, and she’s number two on their list.

Emily’s biggest regret, however? Growing feelings for Charge, her hit man boss.

Because when the feds arrest her for the murder of her ex, Emily knows she’s been set up, and all signs point to Charge.

Why would he do this to her? The prison is filled with vicious criminals, and there’s a price on her head. Ten million dollars.

Can she find a way out before her time is up? Because she’d really love some sweet revenge.

The clock is ticking…

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Funny how people always said that men were the most cutthroat of genders. In Emily’s experience, women could definitely hold their own. And then go the extra mile. Especially when it came to revenge.

“Prison was the only vacation I could afford,” she said dryly. “And who doesn’t like orange?”

…behind the handsome face and beautiful eyes was a very vicious man, the kind they made miniseries about.

 

My Review:

 

While laced together with sarcastic humor – my favorite kind – this was an action-packed, complicated, gritty, and violent tale with kingpins, drug and sex traffickers, killers, murders, prison beatings, bloodletting, and corruption on various levels. I adore the biting snark and clever wit of MO Mack, but I wanted to give her Justine/Emily a few adjustments to her colon with my trusty crocs for her wishy-washy indecision. She seems to attract trouble and violent men like a compass finding north.

About the Author

Obviously, M.O. Mack is a cover. Don’t bother looking for the author’s true identity. He/she must remain secret due to the sensitive information written in his/her stories…

Okay, most of all that is total rubbish! M.O. is a full-time author from the great state of Arizona, who loves making stuff up and hates a slow story. The faster the better! Most days, M.O. tries to avoid the news (too violent) so it doesn’t interfere with writing funny, but quasi-violent stories.

Book Review: Truth or Wolf (Wolf Brothers #1) by Anne Marsh @author_anne_marsh @smartypantsromance

Truth or Wolf
Wolf Brothers #1
by Anne Marsh

Amazon  / B&N  / BB

Welcome to Moonlight Valley, Tennessee… the secret paranormal sibling of Penny Reid’s Green Valley and a small town where bearded werewolves outnumber the unsuspecting human inhabitants.

Twin brothers Atticus and Ford Boone may share the same face and the same supernatural secret, but where Atticus is charismatic and charming, Ford is grumpy and reserved… and that’s before he shifts into his wolf. When hardworking citizen scientist Alice Aymes reluctantly returns to Green Valley to restart her stalled life, she’s sure she knows what to expect. She’ll save up the money she needs to escape to Nashville while nursing her secret infatuation with the ever-popular Atticus Boone—and fighting with her high school nemesis, his twin brother. Alice hates Ford, and he’s always hated her right back. But after a case of mistaken identity has Alice kissing the wrong twin, she does what any good scientist does and analyzes the facts.

Fact #1: It’s time to revisit her unrequited crush on Atticus. Who needs a white-knight fantasy man when there’s a rock-solid, beaded lumberjack in your personal space?

Fact #2: Stimuli and sensory input ahoy! Growing up, Alice saw Ford as the grumpiest, sternest guy in town. They fought for years. Apparently that now sends her amygdalae into sensual overdrive.

Fact #3: The more bearded the wolf, the more protective and possessive.

As Alice finds herself irresistibly drawn to the man she loves to hate, the question lingers: How much of her level-headed heart is she willing to risk in the face of newfound desires and supernatural secrets?

‘Truth or Wolf’, a Penny Reid Universe Reimagining, is a full-length paranormal romance, can be read as a standalone, and is book #1 in the Wolf Brothers series, Smartypants Romance Out of this World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

No fireworks had ever gone off in my body before, but today was clearly my Fourth of July… it felt so perfect I’d have liked to freeze- frame the moment, keep it to take out and remember when life dealt more crap cards my way.

I’d wanted to eat him up and then have seconds.

…your cheeks are the color pink called I Got Me Some.

It was such an amazing daydream that I dreamed it twice.

Maverick eyed Ranger as if he’d suggested we pay a visit to hell and take Satan some sweet tea.

My Review:

 

I am not a paranormal reader but I giggled-snorted with glee and bounced in my chair with avid delight as I read this smirk-worthy and bewitchingly irreverent tale. The Boone’s are not like any werewolves I’ve ever stumbled across.

This was my first exposure to the clever wit and highly amusing word skills of Anne Marsh, and I curse my slothful ways for not jumping on her bandwagon before. I will definitely be haunting her listing for more of this highly entertaining series.

 

Anne Marsh is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of paranormal and humorous small town contemporary romance. She and her herd of rescue cats live in rural North Carolina full of neighbors who will pull you out of a ditch, bring you a truck of mulch, or fix your car just because they can. Who said heroes don’t exist in real life?

Book Review: Banana Pants by Penny Reid  @ReidRomance  @SmartyPantsRom

Banana Pants
by Penny Reid

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

 

Estranged childhood friends unexpectedly reunite under bizarre circumstances and bicker their way to love in this bonkers romantic comedy.

Ava Archer misses her best childhood friend most especially during the month of April. Ask any tax attorney, it’s a lonely, grueling time of year. Luckily, Ava has just received a surprising and delectably absurd offer from her posh doppelgänger at work. She must .to be the aforementioned posh co-worker for one night at an extremely fancy party; a party so fancy, there exists absolutely no chance anyone will recognize her or suspect her ruse. .
.
Desmond (Des) Sullivan is a thief. And not the heart-of-gold kind. He’s the steal-from-the-rich-and-give-to-the-also-rich-so-he-can-get-paid kind. He does, however, have one firm rule: never steal what the target can’t afford to lose. After a brutal falling out with his father, Desmond hasn’t returned to Chicago in over ten years. But when a good friend is swindled and something priceless is stolen, Desmond must return home, both as himself and his thieving alter ego.
.
Infiltrate a dangerous secret society of the world’s most elite billionaires while leveraging his estranged father’s resources and not blowing his cover? Sure. No problem. Or it wouldn’t be a problem if Ava Archer hadn’t just walked into the room, wearing a ridiculous wig, speaking with a preposterous accent, and pretending (badly) to be someone she’s not.
.
‘Bananapants’ is a full-length, contemporary romantic comedy filled with hijinks and shenanigans. It can be read as a standalone, but the parents of the main characters will be familiar to anyone who has read the Knitting in the City series.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

They probably had a money vault somewhere Scrooge McDuck wanted to swim in.

My brother guarded himself like he was an illegal state secret and all other humans were whistleblowers.

You were unhinged on the phone when you called that night. Ranting about how his attractiveness should be against the law. I couldn’t take you seriously until I saw it in person.

Incompetence was everywhere. EVERYWHERE! It was one of the constants in life: death, taxes, change, cockroaches, and incompetence.

I swear, I will go to girl jail for this if you ever reveal me as a source…

Everyone here had been checking him out since he’d walked in. If he’d been a book in a library, he’d have a yearlong waitlist.

 

My Review:

 

Reading a Penny Reid novel is something I always look forward to with great anticipation, so much so, I have tried to use her tales as a reward for good behavior. But as I can’t resist the allure of her delightful missives and appear to be lacking in self-restraint when her oddly consuming character dynamics are concerned, I will read her clever arrangements of words even if I’ve been naughty. Her witty tales are smirk-worthy amusing, sizzling hot, and deeply insightful while thoughtfully written. She has mad word voodoo that sucks me into an all-consuming vortex populated with authentic, complex, and compelling characters. Her latest effort is her best work yet and kept me tethered to my Kindle late into the night.

 

Penny Reid is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of the Winston Brothers and Knitting in the City series. She used to spend her days writing federal grant proposals as a biomedical researcher, but now she writes kissing books. Penny is an obsessive knitter and manages the #OwnVoices-focused mentorship incubator/publishing imprint, Smartypants Romance. She lives in Seattle Washington with her husband, three kids, and dog named Hazel.

Book Review:  Strictly the Worst (The Salinger Brothers #5) by Carrie Elks  @CarrieElks

Strictly the Worst
(The Salinger Brothers #5)
by Carrie Elks

 

 

Amazon / B&N  / BB

Linc Salinger and I have nothing in common. He’s a smooth PR executive; I’m his disciplined office rival.

And he’s just stolen the project I’ve been working on for months.

After tough negotiation I manage to bargain my way back on, but there’s a catch. We have to travel to a tropical island and present to the client together.

Sharing a beach cottage with only one bed, we plan to stay professional. But the island’s magic starts to thaw our animosity, sparking unexpected chemistry. Every laugh and touch intensifies our connection.

It’s obvious there’s no future between us.

He’s a confirmed player. And I’m a single mom with a teenage daughter and a home that’s falling down around us.

So I make a bargain with myself. A few nights of pleasure in paradise and then we’ll head back to New York and pretend this never happened.

We can go back to being at each other’s throats the way we always have.

The only problem is, Linc doesn’t seem to get the office memo…

Enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity collide in this sizzling romantic comedy set on a lush tropical island.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I feel like I’m at a crossroads, having to choose between the dull, straight road ahead of me, and the twisty one that winds into a forest and gets lost in the hills. I can’t see where it ends up but it looks so much more enticing.

I glance over at Angela, who seems very interested in her nails. She’s turning her hand this way and that, staring at it like she might find all the answers to the meaning of life in her cuticles.

His standards aren’t just double, they’re cubed.

I love parties. Or I used to. But it all felt… less… without you. Like somebody had turned the color down on life.

 

My Review:

 

Carrie Elks’s writing is so smooth and enticing that I fell right into this one and didn’t want to come back out as I was enjoying these characters and their snappy banter all too much. The storylines were interesting and the characters who inhabited them were likable and alluring. Each book in this series has been top-shelf and cleverly amusing.

 

Carrie Elks writes contemporary romance with a sizzling edge. Her first book, Fix You, has been translated into eight languages and made a surprise appearance on Big Brother in Brazil. Luckily for her, it wasn’t voted out. Carrie lives with her husband, two lovely children, and a larger-than-life black pug called Plato. When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found baking, drinking an occasional (!) glass of wine, or chatting on social media.

 

Book Review: Muffin But Trouble (Donner Bakery #4) by Talia Hunter  @talia.hunter  @smartypantsromance

Muffin But Trouble
(Donner Bakery #4)
by Talia Hunter  

 

Amazon  / B&N /  BB

New Yorker, Magdalena Solis, is a city cynic to her core. But when she’s threatened by a thug who demands she pay her absent boyfriend’s debts, she flees to Green Valley, Tennessee. Bewildered by her rural surroundings, and harboring a serious aversion to beards and flannel, Mags is horrified when the first local she encounters is the scruffiest brute she’s ever seen.

Cy Baxter has a tortured past, a bad reputation, and facial hair like tumbleweed in a dust storm.

With troubles of his own, Cy vows to keep clear of the rude stranger who does nothing but insult him. But he has a heart as big as the wide-open countryside, and when an adorable stray dog brings the two together, sparks fly in the most unexpected ways.

Desperate to pay off her pursuer, Mags starts work at the Donner Bakery. And as Cy becomes a regular customer, his sweet tooth turns into a longing for something spicier.

But with the relentless thug hot on Mags’ trail, can these city-meets-country misfits find common ground? Or will their love story be as impossible as square dancing in stilettos?

‘Muffin But Trouble’ is a full-length contemporary romance, can be read as a standalone, and is book #4 in the Donner Bakery series, Green Valley Chronicles, Penny Reid Book Universe.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I was so far from fine, I’d lost sight of it completely.

Noah’s Southern drawl made it sound like he was speaking at half-speed. If time was money, everything he said would cost about twice as much as it should.

That woman’s cheese has slipped right off her cracker.

You can go inside and carry on with your regular business. Sharpen your fangs, or cook up some small children for your dinner. Don’t worry about me.

If gossip were gravy, that woman’s biscuits would never be dry.

Bonnie Linton likes to sweeten her tea with scandal.

If the devil likes to barbecue, he has my daddy on his fork.

 

My Review:

 

This was a total delight to read. I gleefully hummed and giggle-snorted my way through this cleverly penned and sassy tale. The characters were well-textured, quick-witted, and highly endearing while also complex and more than a bit damaged. I always enjoy my visits to the quirky community of Green Valley.

 

 

Talia Hunter likes to include her three favorite things in her novels: toe-curling romance, snort-laughs, and heart-warming friendships. She recently moved to Australia’s beautiful Gold Coast, where she’s constantly amazed and not at all freaked out by the weird and wonderful critters. When she’s not writing, you can usually find her with a glass of wine, a good book, at least one of her three cats, and a jumbo-sized can of bug spray.

Connect with Smartypants Romance

Facebook: http://bit.ly/2kvDnb4

Twitter: http://bit.ly/2lzyduO

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2lGdIMQ

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2kwKsYK

Website: https://smartypantsromance.com/

Newsletter: https://smartypantsromance.com/newsletter/

Book Review: Show Off (Juniper Ridge, #6) by Tawna Fenske @tawnafenskebooks

Show Off
(Juniper Ridge, #6)
by Tawna Fenske 

 

Amazon / B&N / GP/ Apple / BB

I wish I didn’t know how one heartbreak can smash your world to bits.

And really I wish I didn’t suspect it’s why there’s an edge to Lana’s sunshine smile. Hell, I wish I didn’t think of Lana at all.I’m busy busting ass to be the best—and yeah, grumpiest—chef around. There’s a reason I keep people at a distance. My evenings blur with butter and basil and helping my brother. Trying to forget how he wound up in a wheelchair. We’ve got our routine, and there’s no room for sweet smiles or blue eyes or… why is it so damn hot in here? The thing is, Lana spins stories as a PR goddess. I’m all for icing cookies, but sugarcoating the truth? Never. Directness is best, even if it means awkward dessert dates that are definitely not dates, and embarrassing chats with my dog. But one truth I’m terrified to face? I’m nuts for Lana. And the fallout could blow up our lives like a mug cake microwaved in a tin cup.

Lighthearted, grumpy-soft-for-sunshine steamy romance about a surly chef and the sunshiny little sister of a big, messy, loving family.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Cassidy looks from Dal to me. “I don’t know what’s happening, but I just got a contact high from the pheromones.”

I know I’m supposed to respect her as my co- parent and Soph’s stepmom, but sometimes I want to grab that woman by the hair and just drag her around like a ragdoll and then punch her in the face and spit on her crotch as I tell her she’s nothing but a cheap, trashy excuse for a— what?

My Review:

 

This was a delight to read from start to finish. I adored these characters, as I have all the previous couples featured in this quirky community. Lana and Dal are well-matched in every way. She has a passion for food, and potatoes in particular, and he is a creative chef primed to indulge her like no other can. Both are well-crafted with authentic foibles and idiosyncrasies. Tawna Fenske just gets better and better with each new tale.

About the Author 

Website 
Amazon
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter 
Instagram

 

When Tawna Fenske finished her English lit degree at 22, she celebrated by filling a giant trash bag full of romance novels and dragging it everywhere until she’d read them all. Now she’s a RITA-nominated, USA Today bestselling author who writes humorous fiction, risqué romance, and heartwarming love stories with a quirky twist. Publishers Weekly has praised Tawna’s offbeat romances with multiple starred reviews and noted, “There’s something wonderfully relaxing about being immersed in a story filled with over-the-top characters in undeniably relatable situations. Heartache and humor go hand in hand.”

Tawna lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband, stepkids, and a menagerie of ill-behaved pets. She loves hiking, snowshoeing, standup paddleboarding, and inventing excuses to sip wine on her back porch. She can peel a banana with her toes and loses an average of twenty pairs of eyeglasses per year. To find out more about Tawna and her books, visit www.tawnafenske.com.

 

 

Book Review: I Thought of You by Jewel E. Ann    @authorjeweleann   @valentine_pr_

I Thought of You
by Jewel E. Ann

Amazon  / B&N /  BB

 

I wanted to conquer the world.

She wanted to gaze at the stars.

It’s been twelve years since I last saw Scottie Rucker. A grim prognosis has upended my life, and no amount of my hard-earned money can fix it. So, after leaving a note on the nightstand, I search for my first love—I search for life.

When I find her in Austin, working at a quaint general store and living in an RV behind it, those twelve years vanish. She’s exactly how I remember her.

Scottie thinks our reunion is a small-world coincidence, and I’m not ready to tell her the truth. After we rekindle our friendship, she convinces me to work part-time at the store while she pursues her budding relationship with Koen, a welder and the grandson of a customer.

Scottie’s ability to live in the moment is exactly what I need. But how do I convince her new boyfriend that I’m not his competition? And what happens if my heart changes its mind?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Stop interrupting the universe.

What is falafel anyway? Isn’t it like lamb balls?

He eyes me with wonder, the good kind, where I can imagine great possibilities running amuck in his mind. And I know this because it’s how I look at him.

I spent entirely too much time thinking about you when we weren’t together. And when we were together, I resented the passing of time.

…if you find someone who loves you for you, and you love them for who they are, then you’ve found what everyone else is looking for.

I don’t know what we are, but it’s all I have, so I don’t try to define it because the easiest way to lose things is by labeling them— devaluing them with the simplicity of a word.

 

My Review:

 

I loved this tale, it turned me inside out and had me picking at my cuticles, but I loved every clever turn, quirky character, and unexpected change of direction. Jewel E. Ann is a wily minx with exceptional word voodoo. Her magical arrangements of words always seem to suck me into the most unusual of vortexes with complicated and heart-squeezing character situations that I would never foresee, yet they make sense in the end. I am enamored with, and totally in awe of, her witty and cleverly bewitching storytelling.

 Jewel is a Wall Street Journal & USA Today best-selling author with a quirky sense of humor. When she’s not saving the planet one tree at a time, you can find her role modeling questionable behavior to her three boys, binge-watching Netflix with her husband, and writing mind-bending romance. 

Book Review: Quiet Types (Quiet Love Book 1) by L.H. Cosway     @l.h.cosway @greyspromo

Quiet Types
(Quiet Love Book 1)
by L.H. Cosway 

 

Amazon  / BB

 

Maggie Lydon rides the bus to her cleaning job every day. It’s an ordinary existence until she notices him sitting just two rows behind her. She doesn’t know his name, nor anything about him. All she knows is that he watches her and it’s the most exciting part of her week.

 

Shay Riordan notices her the very first time he takes the bus. She’s captivating, a beauty who moves through the world like no one else can see her, but she’s far from invisible to him. He wants to sit next to her, introduce himself, but it’s hard to do when you can’t speak.

 

Then, late one Friday evening they both board the bus, and an unexpected occurrence plunges Maggie into Shay’s world, and Shay into Maggie’s.

 

Quiet Types is a standalone contemporary romance and is book #1 in L.H. Cosway’s Quiet Love Series.

 

 Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited!

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I wondered what it must feel like to be so powerful and rich no one dared disrespect you. That would never be me. Not only had I started two feet below the bottom rung of the ladder, but I also lacked the ruthless ambition to climb higher.

I’ve been quiet in a world full of sound.

He saw me when, to most of the world, I was invisible. Up until that point, I thought I liked things that way, but now that I was experiencing the sensation of being seen, I realised all that I’d been missing out on.

I always imagined Mr Oaks as someone who didn’t want to know about the live human being who cleaned his apartment. He’d prefer to imagine invisible pixies came in on Mondays and set everything to rights.

Often others saw my mutism as a weakness, something that held me back, but over the years, I realised it could be a superpower, too. People couldn’t draw me into petty arguments, couldn’t use sly conversational tactics to get me to lose face. In those situations, my silence was a strength, more powerful than a witty comeback or wry retort. It made cruel or mean people look like blithering idiots as they talked and talked while I remained a stoic wall of silence.

Talking is such a shallow way to interact now that I’ve known you, Shay. It’s like comparing greyscale to colour. You engage with others on a deeper level. I felt it from the very first time our eyes met. You pulled me into your orbit without ever needing to utter a word.

 

My Review:

 

This was an impressively perceptive tale that was thoughtfully written with heart-squeezing poignancy, keenly honed observations, and surprising insights that placed me not only in the characters’ vortex but within their skins. I had never stopped to consider the aspects of mutism this deeply.

The storylines were well-contrived and engaging while populated with authentic and original main characters who quietly existed within their rather meager life space. Shay was a lovely character who saw Maggie as a stunning beauty, while she saw herself as anything but as she was quite anxious, self-conscious, insecure, easily wounded, and highly vulnerable after a lifetime of maternal neglect and emotional abuse and a childhood of schoolyard bullying. I found myself deeply invested in both main characters throughout perusal and continued to mull their story long after reaching the end.

 

About the Author

Amazon
GoodreadsWebsite
Facebook
BookBub
Instagram

 

L.H. Cosway lives in Dublin, Ireland. Her inspiration to write comes from music. Her favourite things in life include writing stories, vintage clothing, dark cabaret music, food, musical comedy, and of course, books. She thinks that imperfect people are the most interesting kind. They tell the best stories. L.H. is represented by Louise Fury at The Bent Agency.

 

 

Book Review:  Passing Notes (Teachers’ Lounge Book 1) by Nora Everly @nora.everly @smartypantsromance

Passing Notes
(Teachers’ Lounge Book 1)
by Nora Everly

Amazon  / B&N  / BB

When the one who got away moves in next door…


Clara Hill wants to be left alone.
Sitting on her porch watching everyone else’s lives go by is way more fun than dealing with her own problems.

Or at least that’s what she thought.

Now that her secret high school sweetheart is her next door neighbor, she’s not so sure anymore.
Being back in Green Valley was hard enough without having her first love right there within touching distance.
Especially when he’s so stubbornly determined to flash his unforgettable smile at her every chance he gets and reminding her of when she thought she’d found her happily ever after.

Once upon a time, Nick Easton thought he had it all.

A football scholarship, his dream girl, and a future so bright he couldn’t wait to get started.
But, like everything else in his life, it all came toppling down.
Now he’s content to raise his kids, teach English, and coach football at Green Valley High.
He has no time for things like romance, and dating, and starting over…
He’s fine being alone.
Who needs love?

But when he catches a glimpse of his new neighbor his quiet little world turns upside down, lighting a fire that makes him determined to reclaim all he thought was gone forever.

After all these years, can he convince Clara to give him another shot?
Or will their love story stay hidden in their past?

‘Passing Notes’ is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #1 in the Teachers’ Lounge series, Green Valley Chronicles, Penny Reid Book Universe.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

You need emergency cheese, and old friends.

My therapist is going to make so much more money off me now…

The shadows in my heart were gone. I’d let everything go to shine in the sun.

 

My Review:

 

This was a fun and sassy read that I enjoyed from beginning to end, much as I have every Nora Everly book I’ve been lucky enough to pick up. Her writing is giggle-snort worthy, well- textured, and peppered with amusing snark, heart-squeezes, sizzling steamy bits, and clever wit. This volume was an excellent entry to kick off a new series, I will want every installment that follows.

 

Nora Everly is a lifelong bookworm. She started reading the good stuff once she grew tall enough to sneak the romance novels off the top of her mother’s bookshelf and it has been non-stop ever since.

Once upon a time, she was a substitute teacher and an educational assistant. Now she’s a writer and stay-at-home mom to two small humans and one fat cat.

Nora lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family and her overactive imagination.

Book Review: Nun Too Soon (Bad Habit Book Club 1) by Lissa Sharpe   @lissasharpeauthor @smartypantsromance

Nun Too Soon
(Bad Habit Book Club 1) 
by Lissa Sharpe

Amazon  / BB

Helen is just your normal, everyday librarian who writes romance novels on the side… except she also happens to be a former nun, new to life outside the order and to the dating scene. Helen isn’t just a virgin in her 30s– she’s never had a boyfriend, never kissed anyone, never even so much as held someone’s hand. Becoming a nun was always her path, until it wasn’t anymore, and trying to forge a new path in life has been…tricky.

What isn’t tricky? Her unrequited crush on the handsome library patron that Helen and her friends have affectionately nicknamed ‘The Red Unicorn’ — a man who loves to read, looks great in glasses, and has red hair, aka Helen’s dream man. But the idea of dating is still intimidating, so Helen prefers to daydream about Thad from afar, turning him into her perfect romance novel hero.

Thad is far from perfect, not like the smart, sexy librarian he’s been surveilling. Thad is a bounty hunter who’s determined to find Helen’s brother, Dean, and he’s certain Helen is the key to tracking Dean down. Thad never plans to approach Helen or insert himself into her life–until it becomes clear he’s not the only one looking for Dean. The other people after him are bad news, and Helen’s going to get caught in the crossfire if Thad doesn’t intervene.

As Thad and Helen work together to find Dean, they actually get to know each other, soon realizing that the perfect, ideal versions they have of each other couldn’t be more wrong…but that who they are together might actually be just right.

‘Nun Too Soon’ is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #1 in the Bad Habit Book Club series, Seduction in the City World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Matilda is the friend I know with one hundred percent certainty would help me bury a dead body— but she is also the friend who would critique me on bungling up the murder and buying the wrong kind of shovel.

…the thought of sweating through my dress finally forces me into taking off my coat. Surprisingly, there is no spontaneous sex riot at the sight of me in a formfitting outfit. I relax a little, reasoning to myself that the dress is a bigger deal to me than it is to anyone else.

It probably isn’t a good sign, having one’s sort-of therapist gape in open-mouthed surprise. Considering all the things psychologists likely hear on a daily basis, it has to be something pretty shocking to get a reaction like that. Dr. Sandra recovers quickly, but still, the gape has happened… her voice calm and professional, though I notice she is blinking more than usual.

I feel like in the last hour, I’ve gone from never having had sugar to eating an entire birthday cake by myself. It feels almost surreal, like it couldn’t have actually happened to me.

 

My Review:

 

I reveled in this cleverly amusing tale, it was expertly paced, well-polished, keenly insightful, and packed with sparkling wit and sly humor. Could it truly be the author’s first novel? If so, she has hit a home run during her first time at bat. I am eagerly awaiting her next missive.

About the Author

Amazon
Goodreads
Website
Facebook
BookBub
Instagram

Lissa Sharpe is a mom, a wife, a teacher, a PhD, and an award-winning writer. She has written plays, screenplays, teleplays, short stories, songs, and now for the very first time, a romance novel. When she isn’t having mental arguments with her characters, she is hanging out in the American South with her husband, son, and golden lab.